If you are faced with a medical crisis who should you call? Even a few years ago, you would have probably have not hesitated in dialing 911 to go to an emergency room in a hospital. But today, there are other options, like finding a good urgent care clinic near your home. Numbers of urgent care clinics has gone up significantly in the last few years. This indicates a big change in the way healthcare is being delivered. On your part, it is important to know which facility is right for you in times of a medical emergency.
Why should you go to your nearest urgent care center and not a hospital ER?
- The main reason perhaps why people choose to go to their nearest urgent care clinic these days is because costs of getting treatment in an emergency room can be very high. According to reports, for the same treatment, the ER is likely to charge a patient twice the amount an urgent care clinic would charge him. This is also why many insurance providers are now coaxing people to stop visiting the ER in hospitals. Incidentally, Anthem, an insurance provider in the US, has even warned its clients in Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia about its rights to deny coverage when they go to ERs for situations which are not life threatening.
- Given the easy availability of walk-in clinics around you, finding a facility near your home or workplace should not be hard at all. You can walk into the facility at any time of your convenience, even after work hours or during weekends when getting doctor appointments can be a big challenge.
- Another advantage which these urgent care centers offer patients is that most of them are equipped with all the latest diagnostic equipments to carry out all kinds of lab tests smoothly. Not only are you spared of the hassle of booking for appointments in advance and waiting in serpentine queues for your turn to arrive; you can also get lab tests handed over to you on the same day of testing itself. In case you want the test results to remain anonymous, they will respect your wish.
These are some of the strongest reasons why consumers now prefer going to urgent care clinics and not hospitals for treating emergencies. Moreover, most people are now buying high-deductible insurance packages where you must pay a substantial amount at first before your provider steps in. Insurers on their part are also demanding hefty co-pay for any kind of care in the ER. What makes this worse is that nearly two-thirds of the doctors in the ERs have not been employed by hospitals directly; so, they are free to bill you separately. This means that even if the hospital ER you visit is covered by your provider; you could still be greeted with an astronomical ER bill when the doctor who treated you is not part of this network.
On the other hand, insurers will typically offer coverage for most walk in clinics and urgent care clinics and the co-pay amount is almost the same as what you would be paying in your physician’s chamber. So, finding an urgent care clinic near Pentagon is the best place to go to when you have non-critical emergencies like minor injuries or bruises, fractures, asthma attacks, flu-like symptoms, rashes etc. These facilities will have physicians specialized in family medicine along with a team of nurses, physician assistance and radiologist.
